Wigan Rugby League - the other love of my life
As most of you regular readers know, I spend a lot of time here on my blog talking about diving here in Japan. It’s true, diving is my main passion in life at the moment and something I could go on and on (and on and on and…) about. But it’s been far too long since I’ve mentioned the other passion in my life, and one which still takes up a fair amount of my time here in Japan: rugby league.
I’m a big Wigan supporter and have been since around 1995. My first game was actually a Challenge up Final in 1992 against Castleford, and although winning, the passion that my father was hoping to instill in me in that event didn’t transpire for some reason. And the less said about the next match I attended (the 1993/4 Regal Trophy Final against Castleford at Headingley), the better. Memories of that still haunt me! But then on December 26th 1994 I went to Knowsley Road for the big local derby game against St Helens. A full house of 17,300 was in attendance, and myself, my father, uncle and 2 of my cousins (one of whom now plays for St Helens) were all at the game supporting Wigan. I remember it pretty clearly that we were stood in the middle of the St Helens supporters at the home end of the ground, but unlike football matches, we never felt uneasy about where we were. Wigan won the game 32-25 and I recall Gary Connolly getting either sin binned or sent off (I think it was the latter). I don’t know exactly what clicked inside me that day, but from then on I was hooked. That year was also the year I went to see my first Ashes Tests between Great Britain and the Aussies. I also managed to see us beat them in a single Test (something not too many people can say these days!) - a great win at Wembley following Shaun Edwards’ attempt to decapitate Bradley Clyde resulting in him being sent off in the first half, and a Jonathan Davies try in far left hand corner from where we were sat. I remember as Edwards made that tackle the entire stadium inhaled in a “oh dear… that’s not good” kind of way!
Since that time I’ve seen good and bad from my beloved Wigan, and I’ve loved every minute of watching them. I’ve been to Dublin for a friendly game in 1995, and seen Gary Connolly drunk, going round a luggage carousel! I’ve watched games stood on the 20m line in the Douglas Stand at Central Park, until it’s sale in 1999 and the move to our current home, the JJB Stadium. You would see the same people each week standing in the same spot, and we became good friends with some of them (Karen, Sheila, Dave, Greg, Mike, Simon). Others we knew affectionately with nicknames: “Bruce Grobbelaar”, “Greg Dyke”, “Velvet Cap Man”, “Eeee tooook im ouuuuuuuut”, “the Henry Paul man” (infamous for his dislike of Henry Paul, no matter how well he played!), and “Gerrrommmonsiiiidddeee, Holdsworth!!!”. Since the move to the JJB, people have come and gone and we see fewer of the comedy characters we’d stand next to at Central Park. But in their place has come a new focus of amusement: “Bobby Ball”! Regardless of the weather, he’ll always be seen wearing the shortest shorts since Shaun Edwards played for us! And his extensive vocabulary bulging with words such as “innit?, wonnit?”. You come to see other people too, such as “Sunglasses man” who’ll wear his shades at every game, regardless of what time of day it’s played at, and “The Foul Mouthed One”. The latter was first sighted at Headingley, with a plaster cast around one arm, using the f-word in some of the most imaginative ways! I’ve never known of it being an adjective, a noun and a verb in the same sentence!!!
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Classic matches that stay in memory are:
1/6/94 - Brisbane vs Wigan - Probably one of the biggest backs-against-the-wall performance the club has showed. An awesome game and some perfect performances from Wigan against a much-fancied Brisbane team led to a 20-14 victory in front of 54,000 spectators at ANZ Stadium.
13/8/99 - Wigan vs Bradford - A game played in atrocious conditions meant that it was always going to be a game for the purists. It was what Jim Ross of the WWE would call a “slobberknocker” - a game of forwards. 4 Farrell penalties put Wigan 10-0 in front and then with time running out, Gary Connolly snatched the ball from a Bradford player and raced between the sticks, sending the Wigan fans into jubilation. I just remember celebrating out of the cover of the Douglas Stand and getting absolutely drenched!
9/5/99 - Wigan vs St Helens - The last match at Central Park, and what better way to finish than a game against our bitter rivals, played under bright sunny skies? A couple of pieces of brilliance by Jason Robinson led to tries and helped us to a 28-20 win, although the final points scored at the old ground were by Tommy Martyn.
27/4/02 - Wigan vs St Helens - The Challenge Cup Final at Murrayfield, and a game that will always be remembered as Radlinski’s final. Kris Radlinski, the Wigan fullback, was never supposed to play in that match. An allergic reaction to a bout of athlete’s foot lead to him having a swollen foot and being in a hospital on a drip all week. St Helens, with all players back after being controversially rested against Bradford the week before, were full of confidence and were expected to bring almost twice as many supporters than Wigan. But injections to drain his foot of fluid before the game, and more at half-time meant that Radlinski played the entire match, and put in a Herculean performance at full-back, earning him the Lance Todd trophy for man-of-the-match in a game that Wigan won 21-12.
There are plenty of other games that I’d like to write about, but I could be here for a hell of a long time typing, and I do have other things to do in my life! And there’s still a couple of things I want to mention before this entry is done, so I’ll move on…
My love of rugby league was not limited to watching though. Despite going to a school where rugby league was considered too working class, my love for the sport grew and in the 2nd year of university I became a member of Durham University Rugby League Football Club (DURLFC). I remember my first game vividly: I came off the bench during a 80-1 defeat (bloody drop goal!) and my first act was to tread on someone’s ankle while chasing them down and injure them. Bosh!!! To be honest, we were not a good team by any stretch of the imagination: underfunded due to the university preferring the other code of rugby, plus things like rowing and hockey; lacking in player pulling power because of the former; and lacking in raw talent through no fault of our own. But I was in a team which put their heart into every game, and when we did get the occasional victory, we relished it. And the fact that the team wasn’t strong meant we had players who were playing because they loved the sport and the team spirit, not because they were playing in a winning team. In addition, getting involved in DURLFC did, in a roundabout way, result me in meeting one of my best friends, Ste. We’re both big Wigan supporters, and even now I’m half the world away from the Superleague, I’m still in regular contact with him by emails about the games. Ste also had the dubious honour of going to the coldest rugby league game in the memory of mankind (well, very possibly!). God knows how I got talked into it, but I ended up agreeing to go to a Gateshead vs Hunslet game one January Sunday afternoon. The day before the game had a bit of snow and we were in 2 minds about whether the game would be on or not. Sunday came and Newcastle United declared their football game was called off due to a frozen pitch, but the Gateshead game was still on for some reason. The walk from Gateshead train station to the ground was just painful! There was nothing less than a blizzard raging outside, and our faces were just in pain from the cold and snow blasting into them. But we made it to the game along with about 200 other crazy folks, and watched a pretty ordinary game. I don’t remember much of the game as most of my body was devoted to trying to keep me warm! Fun times…
Well, this little entry is coming to an end, but I’ve actually got a taste for writing rugby things, so expect a preview of Wigan’s 2007 Superleague season, which will hopefully lead to a piece of silverware or 2. This particular blog entry will have to go out to my dad who, through much perserverance, managed to get me into this wonderful sport. Even though we’ll frequently come away from games arguing about which players are fit to wear the Wigan shirt, and rarely see a game in the same light, he’s the reason I started watching the sport, and who made me what I am today. Every time I’ve been driven over the Pennines to a game in driving winds and rain and not said thank you, the appreciation has always been there. So for all that and much much more, you have my eternal thanks and love. And special mentions have got to go to Ste, Karen, Sheila & Dave - rugby friends who I’ve shared some excellent times with. Looking forward to our next Wigan game together, whenever that may be. Until next time take care, dive safely and keep supporting your team.
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